Thanks to several genre bending pop releases on Blue Note Records, singer-songwriter Inara George and her band, Bird & The Bee, have helped change the face of pop music in the early 2000’s. Of course, Inara’s dad, Little Feat founder, the late, great Lowell George was a huge rock star in his own right and she’s kept her dad’s namesake alive with some great music of her own. In mid 2008 Inara George released her latest solo album, simply entitled An Invitation, on the Everloving label. Much more orchestral and introspective than the bouncy pop of Bird & The Bee, An Invitation features Inara’s one of a kind vocals backed up by sumptuous string orchestration from L.A. producing hero Van Dyke Parks. With his legendary approach towards orchestral string arrangements, Van Dyke has brought a new maturity and dimension to Inara’s music. Commenting on Inara’s songs on An Invitation, Van Dyke adds, ‘There are different characters in each piece, but it all feels like a connected event. There are certainly different scenes on the record, and that’s what I like. And I think that takes real talent, as a writer, to fictionalize a reality the way Inara has done.’ Influenced by 20th century music giants like Aaron Copland, jazz master Chet Baker, and the wide screen scope of Leonard Bernstein, Ms. George and Van Dyke Parks, along with producer Michael Andrews, have crafted an adventurous and wildly imaginative hybrid that blends the finest elements of pop, jazz and classical music. www.everloving.com

Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed by mwe3.com. Send to: MWE3.com CD Reviews Editor Robert Silverstein, P.O. Box 630249, Little Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249 E-mail: breakthru87@mwe3.com